BE ENCOURAGED

When you were growing up as a kid, were you ever afraid of asking your parents for something? Why would you be afraid to ask? Mainly for two reasons, you're scared they would possibly say no, and you would be crushed if you don't get it, because you want it so badly.

THE CONFIDENCE OF SAYING YES

Think about this, would you ever be afraid to ask your parents for something if you knew the answer would be yes. If there are things that you know your parents are going to say yes to, there would be no reason to hesitate or avoid asking, and no fear they would say no.

NO GOOD THING WITHHELD

Well, guess what, it works the same way with our heavenly Father. He never wants us to be afraid of coming to him to ask for what we need. The bible says there is no good thing the Lord will withhold from you. God wants what's good for you; he’s ready to say yes to what we ask.

Psalm 84:11 KJV 1900

11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield: The Lord will give grace and glory: No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

GOD IS A PRESENT HELP

As we know, this world is broken, and we're only here for a short time, but while we're here, I believe God wants us to live the best life possible under the circumstances. God never promised things wouldn't go wrong, but he did promise that he would always be here to help.

Psalm 46:1–2 KJV 1900

1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

GOD IS WILLING TO HEAL

In Matthew, the leper came to Jesus; he said, Lord, if your willing, you can help me, and Jesus said I'm willing to help you; he reached out to touch the man and made him clean. I haven't seen an instance in the bible where someone came to Jesus for help, and he turned them away.

Matthew 8:2–3 KJV 1900

2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

EVERYONE SHOULD BE SEEKING THE LORD FOR HEALING

I believe that every Christian should be seeking the Lord for healing. We all have some areas in our lives that need to be fixed, whether in our bodies, minds, emotions, attitudes, behaviors, lifestyles, and desires, whatever it is, and wherever it is, we should be seeking the remedy.

GOD WANTS YOU TO BE ENCOURAGED

Your heavenly Father wants you to be encouraged to know that you can bring all your care to him. We tell our children; you can talk to us about anything. The Lord says the same thing to us; he wants to heal us; he wants us to help us; he wants us to do well, and that's good news.

Isaiah 41:10 KJV 1900

10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: Be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Encouragement is all about giving someone courage, confidence, and boldness. When we become weak, weary, depressed or disillusioned, God lends his strength and support to help us overcome, its God way of telling us we can do it, because he will help us get it done.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND GOD'S PROCESS FOR HEALING

Jesus' response to people who sought him for healing can be an encouragement to us; that we will receive the same positive response when we seek him for help. I believe the story in today's scripture can give us insight into how we can be encouraged when seeking God's help.

BIBLE BACKGROUND

Jesus is in someone's house teaching; the place is packed, it’s standing room only, four men brought their paralyzed friend hoping they could get him in front of Jesus to be healed; they arrive late to church, the crowd was blocked their blessing, they couldn’t get through the door.

However, these guys were not easily deterred, they decided to get creative; if we can't get in through the door, we will get in through the skylight; if there is no skylight, we will make one, so they went on the roof, opened a hole, and lowered the paralyzed man in front of Jesus.

Think about what a distraction this must have been; they hear a noise, see debris falling. I Imagine Jesus stopped teaching; everyone gets quiet, looks up, and there's a stretcher coming down out of the roof. Jesus sees what's happening and tells the paralyzed man, be encouraged.

The paralyzed man and his friends stirred up a scene, caused a commotion, and interrupted the instructor, yet Jesus didn't condemn them; he didn’t call them out or ask what they were thinking. He saw their determination and their faith, and he told them to be encouraged.

I believe that's God's message to all of us, he wants us to be encouraged, be of good cheer, you can feel good about what's going to happen next. You can have confidence that I'm going to help you. You can be assured that I'm willing and able to assist you, I’m on your side.

If you need healing in your body, when you come to Jesus for help, you can be encouraged. If you need healing in your finances and you come to Jesus for help, you can be encouraged. If you need healing in your relationship and you come to Jesus for help, you can be encouraged.

Mark 11:24 KJV 1900

24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

I. IN THE PROCESS OF HEALING, GOD WILL DIMINISH YOUR FEARS

a. Jesus said, be Encouraged; he gave a positive response.

b. Jesus said, be Encouraged; he cares how you think and feels.

c. Jesus said, be Encouraged; expect compassion, not condemnation.

d. Jesus called him a son, a term of endearment, relational, friend.

II. IN THE PROCESS OF HEALING, GOD WILL DEAL WITH YOUR FAULTS

a. God deals with the source, not the symptoms, the cause, not the condition.

b. Typically, sin is the sources of our sickness; God points out our culpability.

c. Illustration: conditions can be changed with behavior, but we rather have a pill

d. Notice that pill never heal you; they only mask the symptoms.

III. IN THE PROCESS OF HEALING, GOD WILL PLACE A DEMAND ON YOUR FAITH

a. God will challenge you to act in faith, get up, follow his commands.

b. He may ask you to do something you don’t feel capable or comfortable with

c. Whenever we make a healing request, God requires a response of faith.

Related Media

Related Sermons